Our definition for Kidmin is: partnering with parents to guide kids toward a HEART for God. We do that by equipping them to disciple their own children, but we also must address what happens within the church ministry. For that, there are 5 essentials, the first 4 of which we’ve defined as:

• H eartfelt Relationships
• E ngaging Teaching
• A uthentic Worship
• R eal Service

The 5th element is: Telling the Good News.

5 Elements For Children’s Ministry: Telling The Good News

This might seem obvious…it’s the heart of everything we do, right? Yes, it is…and sometimes it gets lost in the midst of WHAT we do.

Curriculum is important and it’s there as a guide. Environment is important and it enhances what we do. Communication techniques are important and they can be used to engage kids. Facilities and technology is important and it’s part of our kids’ lives. There are many, many aspects of our ministries that are important – vital even – but what do they matter if we aren’t telling the simple Good News of Jesus Christ?

I don’t want any child leaving my children’s ministry without the opportunity to know Jesus personally…period.

So what does that mean? It means many things, but here are three of the most important:

1. It means Telling the Good News must be part of the DNA of our ministry.

When we plan, we plan around Telling the Good News. When we vision cast, we vision cast around Telling the Good News. It must be part of our language – second nature in our thinking – especially to those of us who lead.

2. It means we must train our team to tell the Good News.

Often times our teachers don’t share the Gospel simply because they don’t know how. That’s not acceptable. We must ensure that each teacher, in fact every volunteer, understands and is equipped with the knowledge and tools to share the Gospel with a child.

3. It means we as a ministry must be laying the groundwork for Telling the Good News in everything we do.

This is where the curriculum, the environment, the communication, and the facilities and technology comes in (and many other things). All of these must lead to the simple Telling of the Good News.

“Children” are the greatest mission field in the world. Why? There are more of them than any other “unreached people group.” They are the most receptive to receiving the Good News (some studies show as many as 84% of those who accept Christ as their Savior will do so between the ages of 4 and 14). They are also pointed to by Jesus Himself as the example that all of our faith ought to look like, meaning we must grasp every opportunity we have to initiate that faith in Jesus.

Here are two great resources, both written by David Staal:

• Leading Kids To Jesus, great for learning how to have one-on-one conversations with children about Jesus
• Leading Your Child To Jesus, a great resource for parents to learn how to share the Gospel with their child.

How do you incorporate Telling the Good News in your ministry? Please share in comments below.